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In a historic shift last week, the Federal Reserve removed all mystery about its plans for interest rates, declaring its intent to maintain the current "exceptionally low" target of near zero percent for the key federal-funds rate "at least through late 2014."

The surprising announcement of the extension of this policy—from a previously anticipated end date of mid-2013—came Wednesday after the two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which also brought forth new and lower projections for economic growth. The release (available at http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/fomcprojtabl20120125.pdf) also included its expected path for gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation.

In addition, the central bank provided charts of rate expectations of all 12 of the Fed district presidents, plus members of the Fed's board of governors, which currently has two vacancies among its seven spots. Their names were left off the numbers to provide the last cloak of secrecy.

WHAT'S APPARENT FROM THE TABLES and charts is that, while the Fed expects GDP to expand in 2012 to 2014 at rates above the longer-term tendency of 2.3%-2.6%, it will hold the fed-funds rate target near zero as long as unemployment remains well above its 5.2%-6% longer-run potential and while inflation remains at or below the 2% "central tendency." The FOMC expects the jobless rate to come down only grudgingly, from the current 8.5%, to 6.7%-7.6% by 2014. It also expects the personal consumption expenditure inflation measure to remain comfortably below 2% through 2012-2014.

Having literally run out of basis points on the short end of the debt market, the Fed has been trying to push down longer-term rates, indirectly and directly. It followed last year's declaration to keep the funds rate near zero through mid-2013 with its program to lengthen its holdings of Treasury securities and to reinvest its principal payments from its agency debt and mortgage-backed securities issued by federal agencies such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in agency MBS.

By extending its zero-rate target for fed funds through 2014, the Fed aims to alter expectations to induce more buying of longer-term securities.